The embodiments described in this disclosure relate to messaging systems such as text messaging systems on cellular telephones or other communication devices or data procuring systems.
The use of text messaging systems began many years ago. For example, wireless cellular telephone carriers, such as Verizon or AT&T, allowed text messages through the Short Message Service (SMS) for cell phones in the 1990s before smartphones were available. Typically, the amount of data transmitted has been limited by rules established by the carriers. Recently, as the use of smartphones (e.g. iPhones) and tablet computers (e.g. IPad) has increased, the text messaging systems have developed the ability to send images, such as photos or emojis. In addition, messaging systems such as iMessage from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. have allowed users to also send and receive text and images through “public” networks which include “public” WiFi access points and the Internet (in addition to using the wireless carrier's private cellular telephone networks), and messaging systems such as iMessage can seamlessly transition between the use of public and private networks depending on the availability of, for example, WiFi access points or the compatibility of the other user's device (which may not be compatible with iMessage).
A common use of text messaging is the sending and receiving of URLs (Uniform Resource Locators). For example, a user can type a URL or copy and paste a URL into a text message and then send the text message. The URL may be for a web page or a video or a song or some other content that is accessible, usually through a web browser, to a device. Sending the user entered URL in a text message allows a user at the receiving device to select the URL to cause a web browser (or other component) on the receiving device to load the URL (e.g. a web page) and display or otherwise present content from the URL.